Born to be photographer by Canon DSLR Challenge

Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 28: Documentary - My Life (Hosted by Jonas Svedberg aka designboy) >> Challenge 28: Exhibition > Born to be photographer

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	Moti

Born to be photographer

In view of the hysterical comments regarding this photo I think I should provide an explanation of what's going on here.

First, this photo was not taken for this challenge or any challenge. It was not even meant to be exposed or published. It is actually a private souvenir of a moment in life.
I would like also to assure you that what you see here happened only once, is not a common habbit
and has absolutely nothing to do with children abuse or lack of good care as some of the pure souls in this forum are lead to believe.

What you see here is photo of a real situation shot 20 years ago during an extremely hectic evening.
I had 3 hours to finish an urgent company's marketing plan and to feed my daughter at the same time.
My wife was out for two days visiting her parents abroad.
Sophie wasn't easy with food that night. She just fall asleep every two minutes and feeding took ages. And then I had this idea.
I know, it was a bit silly but at that moment I felt myself a bit lost.
Believe it or not, it was the first time she completely finished the bottle with lots of pleasure, letting me finish my work at the same time.
Of course I couldn't resist and took several shots of the event.

Sophie is now 21 years old. She grew up to be a gorgeous and perfectly healthy and happy woman.
The latest medical checks she passed show clearly that her mental state is absolutely normal and that the above dramatic event of 20 years ago, left absolutely no traces behind.

The icing on the cake is that Sophie graduated from an art and photography school.
She is on a good way to become an excellent photographer herself. She just had her first exhibition of B&W photography last September in Brussels.
Maybe this is also the reason why I called this photo Born to be photographer.

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Please do not delete, update, or otherwise edit others' entries
* Submitter retains all copyrights *

Guest		17-Nov-2004 02:30
Thanks Moti. I'm glad there are no hard feelings. {{{{{{hugs!}}}}} ~ Lonnit

Guest		17-Nov-2004 00:00
OMG! I just love these challenges! Moti - I too got a laugh out of this, thanks for contributing! Perhaps the winner can devote the next challenge to breast feeding - that should generate a number of interesting images! :) - Ralph

Canon DSLR Challenge		15-Nov-2004 10:02
Thank you Lonnit, I am relieved :-) Anyway I ballanced the situation now with the other feeding picture. If one day you will write a book, you have my permission to use it. The second one I mean... Moti

ctfchallenge		15-Nov-2004 02:45
Joe, Please do look back through my comments and do note that I never did accuse Moti of any type of poor parenting. I was 100% convinced that he had set this up as a joke for the purpose of taking the shot. I was very surprised, as were others, that this was something that occured in a real moment of desperation, and he decided afterwards to take the shot. My comments about it were made out of the fear that someone would take this (what I thought to be a) joke and try it for real, thinking it was a good idea. I felt it an obligation to warn others of the dangers of doing such a thing. I'm sorry, it's just my nature. I've got strong mothering instincts and feel a sense of protection over all children. My reaction stemmed from that protective instinct. There was never any animosity or blame towards Moti, as I thought it was all a setup joke shot. Byron, funny you should suggest the book. I do have plans on doing a breastfeeding photo book. But, your suggestion to add the essays is excellent! I had actually already had blurb on my website stating that I'm looking for moms to participate. Thank you for the improvement!!! Phil, that's why I'm so sensitized to it. I've seen them marketed and I've engaged in battles to have them removed (and have won some too!) I agree that it would be a very remote chance now that someone would read all this and still do it; the chances of someone who is doing it and realize how bad it was would probalby be a more reasonable outcome. ~Lonnit

Guest		14-Nov-2004 23:10
Moti: For what it's worth, I don't understand all the dialogue, extrapolation, and moralism over this shot. While my parental instincts twitched a bit when I saw it, I interpreted it as a "parental moment" (i.e. too much life and not enough time to fit it all) and not much else. Anyhow, certainly no basis on which to draw broad conclusions on your parenting skills or outlook, and IMHO not an appropriate forum for discussion on parenting values. We all have our trip-wires, and it looks like you may have inadvertently hit one or two of them. I hope this doesn't sour your outlook on the Challenges. --Joe Reilly

Guest		14-Nov-2004 20:01
Well spoken Byron... /Jonas

ctfchallenge		14-Nov-2004 08:17
Good Point Phil. And to those who think a comment with true feelings shouldn't be a part of the discussions on this challenge, Emotions are a part of life and must be shared in the same way as the beauty and ugliness of the world must equally be shared by all. I read a commentary on the film "Ray" that's in the theaters and when they were writing the script, Ray Charles insisted that the "low" parts of his life be portrayed equally so that High's could truly be felt. And I vote for Lonnit to publish a Photo Book with Essays on Breast Feeding. It could be both beautiful and instructive and inspiring. I think I'd buy one for my wife. What do the rest of you think? -Byron

Guest		14-Nov-2004 05:33
Wow, who'd have thought such a controversy could be stirred up by one photo? Lonnit, of course I agree that the thought of such device is awful - and I'm horrified to think that there have been real attempts to market such a thing, absolutely horrified. I do think, though, that now Moti has added his narrative, plus all that's been said here, that the worst aspect of the image has now been removed - it would be a real fool to see the image and all these responses to go away and still think it's a good idea! Although, I admit to being a little shocked that this wasn't just a set-up for the picture... I don't consider anyone's response here to be "hysterical" and am disappointed to hear the term used. I think everyone has something they feel passionate about, and sometimes the triggers to that passion are found in expected places. Of course, I stand by Lonnit's right to air her views here, and for Moti to respond, but let's try to keep it nice, eh? (And, Lonnit, I also believe you when you say your L key is missing its legend. LOL!) Phil

Guest		14-Nov-2004 04:47
db. - When babies are at risk of dying, I don't think it's funny. You haven't spent 10 years helping the vulnerable mothers who are bombarded with suggestions like this and come to me desperately trying to find the strength to continue to nurse when, from thier point of view, the whole world around them is trying to get them to stop. Additionally, I don't think there's a person in all of dpreview that laughs more than I. My "L" key actually has on "L" imprinted on it anymore becasue it has literally worn off from all the "LOL"s I type! LOL! Jonas, you are well informed! ;) (BTW, the WHO recommendation is a MINIMUM of 24 months. AAP says "minimum of 1 year, but it's the lucky baby who gets to nurse to his second birthday and breastfeeding should continue for as long as mutually desired). Yes, if this photo remained, along with all the comments, it would actually be an incredibly wonderful thing b/c it will now be educational. Perhaps someone who is currently propping will see it and become aware of the risks. Moti, More than offended, I was jsut plain terrified by it. It is just a photo, with a certain story behind it that you can now read in the caption, posted in a photography gallery and this is how it should be considered. It has absolutely nothing to do with the dramatic issue you were trying to raise. I did repeatedly state that I believed this to be a one-time situation set up for the purpose of the photo. I never accused you of doing this on a regular basis, and after just this moment of reading your newly added comments, frankly I was very surprised to learn that this wasn't a set up for the complete and total purpose of taking the shot. I never accused you of any sort of bad parenting. What I did say is that there are people out there that do prop bottles, both with store-bought devices and homemade contraptions, and that they are putting thier child in great physical danger, and if done on a contining basis, can cause emotional trauma as well. I never accused you of doing this on a continual basis and if fact assumed the entire thing was set up for the purpose of a humorous shot. I would have been the first one laughing if I weren't aware of the dangers of it for OTHER people that might decide this would be an excellent idea. I am thrilled to hear that all your offspring have been breastfed. That is wonderful! BTW, don't think that you don't have the right stuff. Men have actually become able to lactate! LOL! I'm certain that you are a very loving father and grandfather. I never had doubts about that. It is just that, unfortunately, not everyone else is the same, tenderhearted person that you are. I would have been the first one laughing if it weren't for the fact that I know babies can choke to death like this. Sometimes a joke just isn't worth the risk. This is an issue that I am very sensitive to. Phil - Being offended is one thing, which by the way is one amazing thing when it comes to art. Controvesy is fantastic! However, this situation is more than offensive. What really terrifies me about it is that a baby left with a propped bottle can DIE! It has happened. What if the phone rang during this setup and he was out of the room for just a few moments and came back to discover his baby choked to death. Ok, so this was a one-time thing for the joke of the challenge entry. Thank Goodness baby was fine. What if someone else gets the idea though that this is a pretty cool way to prop a bottle and rigs up something similar, or even not so similar. What if that baby chokes to death? If that weren't tragic enough, how would Moti feel if he were to discover that it was this shot that lead to the death of that baby. How could he ever forgive himself? It's one thing to be offended by a shot. It's a completely different thing when it could become instrumental in the death of an infant. The asphyxiation shot was somewhat different because no adult would likely attempt it and die. Although I guess one could argue that the person with the bag on thier head could accidentally trip and fall, knocking themselves unconscious ultimately causing them to suffocate b/c they couldn't then remove the bag. The real fear in that shot was that a child might see it and immitate it. I happened to be one of the people that defended his right to post that shot and let it remain. My argument was that children shouldn't be meandering around on pbase without supervision b/c it does indeed contain adult content. This shot is somthing that an adult might see and try to immitate, therefore I feel it is a very dangerous thing to be suggesting. If it remains I would really like to see a strong warning under it pointing out the dangers I cited. As for making my comments in public, as opposed to in private, I felt that it should be something that should be openly discussed. It did not cross my mind to even privately email him. This warning should be accessible to all anyway. Byron has a good point. Shu has a most excellent one as well! ;) LOL! ~ Lonnit

Canon DSLR Challenge		14-Nov-2004 00:55
Can I add one comment to all of this? We all have our opinions and have expressed them.... Now, let's get on with the challenge!!! Shu

Canon DSLR Challenge		13-Nov-2004 23:55
Just in order not to be misunderstood, Jonas: If I regret "such" a discussion here, it's not because of its "non technical" character at all, but because of the hysterical and fundamentalistic way this "battle" is "fought" by the person—lacking even the slightest sense of humour—who startet it. — db.

Anna Yu		13-Nov-2004 19:53
When I first saw this picture I thought it was harmless and funny. Was very surprised and a bit disturbed to read that others are so upset about it. I guess we are very different in this world. That was a lovely story in the caption, Moti, I imagine that your daughter would also be amused by it today.

Guest		13-Nov-2004 18:51
I agree everything what Lonnit said. As we all know many children in developing countries even died because their mothers are convinced that bottle feeding is superior to brest feeding and they didn't have acess to fresh water. I have an entry with a photo of a feeding bottle in the eligeble, but that is from either my four year old or my 17 month old daughter (don't remember which one) who drinks breakfast gruel in the morning before the breakfast at daycare. Both were breast feed around 10 months before they (and their mother) slowly choosed to start with "real" food. (I think though that the latest recommendation from World Helth Organisation is to breast feed your child up to 24 months of age.) As I stated I agree everything what Lonnit said. Except one thing. I'm a big opponent to sensorship. I don't think we'll be better humans with less information and less discussion. On the contrary. To this photo (although with "innocent" intent) Lonnit has made some very good points. But maybe the discussion alone has prevented a child from being treated that way even once in the future? If so then it's a victory. Do you agree with that Lonnit? As for a non technical or composition discussions in a photo challenge >I< would say it's ok. (Others are free to disagree). Especially this challenge which was about our lives. And our lives isn't only about apertures or compositions... /Jonas

Canon DSLR Challenge		13-Nov-2004 16:14
I do agree with you where you talk about "hysterical comments", Moti; but what you consider a "pure soul" I'd rather describe as a "poor soul"... (Whatever one's opinion on the subject of breastfeeding: Too bad we we had to get such a discussion into a photo challenge!) — db.

Canon DSLR Challenge		13-Nov-2004 13:47
Lonnit, I am sorry if you were offended so badly by this photo. It was really not meant to offend anyone. It is just a photo, with a certain story behind it that you can now read in the caption, posted in a photography gallery and this is how it should be considered. It has absolutely nothing to do with the dramatic issue you were trying to raise. Although I understand your point of view and respect your feelings, I am sorry to say that I find you comment completely out of the context. Moreover, you draw out conclusions and make a judgement about a photo, a person and a situation, you know absolutely nothing about. You could have asked a quastion... Just to calm you down, I am a father to 3 lovely childrean and have one wonderful granddaughter. All have been breastfed, Honestly, I would even loved to participate personally in it but unfortunatelly I do not have the right equipment for that. I can also assure you that all my kids got all the love and care that parents can give. Anyway, thank you for the detailed information but I already know everything one needs to know about the subject. And last, I believe that art works and situations in life, should sometimes be viewed with a pinch of sense of humor. Chear up, Moti

Canon DSLR Challenge		13-Nov-2004 10:54
Oh, now this is a tricky one. On the one hand, I do agree with Lonnit on the breastfeeding issue - 2 of my 3 children were breastfed, the eldest was not, but not for want of trying, maybe that's more to do with the lack of support Lonnit refers to. On the other hand, and I must emphasise that I do this with utter respect to Lonnit, having become to know her (at least a little) over the past year, I do feel her essay is somewhat out of place here. I think Byron has the right idea - a change of title for a start, plus comments from Moti beneath the title stating this was just a set-up (at least, I hope so). I honestly cannot believe this is really a regular occurence... It feels a little like the reaction to Scott's "Asphyxia" shot a few challenges back. Yes, it makes you uncomfortable, it's certainly not an image I'd hang on my wall regardless of any technical aspects. But, all that aside, do we really want to get into requesting deletion of images that offend us in someway? Be it politics, religion or whatever, these galleries are no place for censorship of any image provided (of course) that it's not illegal. I'm sorry Lonnit, but regardless of the validity of your standpoint, I do feel you would have been better adressing it direct to Moti, not on the open forum. Phil

Guest		13-Nov-2004 06:52
Moti, I remember this photo and your comments. I also agree with Lonnit. But it was an exceptional situation, was it? So the photo is funny, the idea is great. Don´t delete it,and recompense your pretty baby with kisses!

ctfchallenge		13-Nov-2004 06:14
Although I agree fully with Lonnit and her sentiment. I think to take the photo out of the challenge would deprive many people of reading Lonnit's comment and reaction to the photo which could go a long way to promote the proper way. If anything... change the topic to "here's the wrong way!!!" or something like that. I find seeing the photo makes me understand Lonnit's position better and the passion behind it. My2C -Byron

ctfchallenge		13-Nov-2004 03:47
Moti, I'm am so incredibly offended, appalled, and frightened by this photo. I have spent a decade helping women overcome breastfeeding problems. I've given peer support to women all over this earth. I've helped many a tearful, terrified new mom get thru the challenges of nursing in a society obsessed with bottle feeding, when they've had no one else to turn to. I've gotten letters from grateful mothers who could barely find words to express thier gratitude for what I had done for them, saving thier babies from losing their birthright - their mother's milk, and referring to me as thier 'breastfeeding guardian angel'. You can't possibly know what it is like to be a woman who is trying to do the best for her baby, giving him what nature designed to be best for him, and having it be an uphill battle every step of the way.... bombardment by formula companies who, aided by hospitals, make sure every baby born their is given formula samples to take home with them, they devour the ad space in baby magazines, drumming it into vulnerable new mothers heads that formula is great... tv commercials selling lies about how close formula is to breastmilk (in actuality there are over 400 ingredients in breastmilk that cannot be reproduced in a lab. Breastmilk is alive with antibodies!)... other mothers, friends, sisters, aunts, cousins, mothers, grandmothers, mother-in-laws who all try to persuade you that formula feeding is easier (when in fact it's a hell-of-a lot more work!). When I see something like this, (believe me, this is not even the first time. There are many contraptions on the market designed to do precisely what you have depicted), it destroys me! It flies in the face of everything I stand for! Breastfeeding is not just nourishing baby's body. It nourishes every ounce of their being! Do you know that a baby that does not recieve human contact can wither away and DIE! That time spent at the breast is IMPERITIVE for proper bonding as it also provides that essential physical contact! Look at all those poor babies in the Russian orphanages - all those children that didn't get the touch they so desperately needed, and now will never live normal lives because they couldn't develop normally. It is tragic enough that babies do not get all the nutrients they need from formula, and frequently suffer from bad reactions from intolerences to forumula. Over one million babies a year die from formula feeding each year! If a baby must be bottle fed, then it it more imperative than ever to offer the physical contact aspects of the feeding. Snuggle them, sing to them. Let them look into mama or daddy's loving eyes. Let them feel the warmth of your body. Let them feel your energy. Let them hear your heartbeat. These things are as critical as the nutrients themselves! It is life's biggest misfortune when mother and baby do not get to experience what nature intended them. It is so terribly tragic when a mother so desperately wants to nurture her child at the breast and cannot. The truth is that less than 1% of women physically cannot breastfeed. 99% of women can do it and so many more would if they had the proper support. Formula broke the continuum and we are now several generations deep in formula feeding which means that most moms cannot turn to their friends, sisters, aunts, cousins, mothers, grandmothers, or mother-in-laws for help becasue these women don't have any experience or knowledge of it. So instead, they offer what they know - formula advice, desptite the fact that so many actually feel guilty that they did not nurse their own children! When you breastfeed a baby you cannot prop the nipple and walk away. Nature designed it that way for a reason. Baby NEEDS that physical contact! I'm sure you must have done this photo as a joke, and it seems like it should be funny. The truth is that it is horiffic because women are actually doing this!!!!!!! I have been involved on several occasions, with getting bottle holding contraptions removed from webstores and other venues. I cannot sit idly by and take this with a grain of salt. I beg you, for the sake of babies everwhere, I am speaking for those who cannot yet speak for themselves, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remove this picture! If only one person were to see it, and think it a 'cool idea' it would be a tragedy. A baby needs to be cuddled and loved when he eats. He needs to make eye contact with someone who cares for him. To lie there, untouched , staring at a cold, blank, faceless ceiling, is sooo incredibly heartbreaking! And what happens when these babies are left with bottles strapped to thier faces, formula dripping out even when they are full, but they don't yet know how to or have the abilty to turn their heads away. Thier tiny bellies overfill, painfully. What then when they start to gag? They choke and nobody is there hear them gagging or see them turning blue. I can't tell you how badly I want to swoop into that room and pick that baby up and snuggle and kiss that precious little head, and drink in the sweet smell of new life. I'm begging you please, don't let anyone get any ideas from this. Please take it down before a baby suffers (or worse) needlessly. I have no doubts that none of this ever ran through your head when you were taking the shot. I'm sure you thought it was all very funny and innocent. Unfortunately, this concept could lead to a very tragic end. I'm certain you could not bear it if you ever learned that someone attempted it with fatal results. With deepest respect, Lonnit

Anna Yu		13-Nov-2004 00:09
That's very imaginative, good idea for a new use for a tripod. :-D

Canon DSLR Challenge		12-Nov-2004 22:58
That is TERRIBLE!!! It's not a breast (just ask Lonnit, LOL) and it's not even a parent! --Olaf

Guest		12-Nov-2004 22:51
LOL!